Objective To examine trends in mortality from poisoning in Mexico and each of its federal states during the period from 1981 to 2007.

Methods Mortalities and trends were estimated for the study period from Mexicos official data based on the International Classification of Diseases, 9th and 10th revisions. Results were analysed by age group, sex and year of death, as well as by state and size of city or town of residence. (Codes CIE-IX, E850-E869, E95-E962, E962, E972, E980-E982; CIE-X, X40-X49, X60-X69, X85-X90, Y10-Y19.)

Results From 1981 to 2007 the Mexican health system registered 42 466 poisoning deaths. For the study period, mortality trend was descended: from 2.0–2.2 in 1981–1982 to 1.5 in 2005–2006, a 29% reduction. Before 1988, those under 1 years old were group with the highest mortality risk, with a rate around 8.5/100 000. In the following years this rate diminished dramatically to reach a rate lower that 1.0/100 000 by 2007. The rest of the population did not show this trend. Poisoning mortality was more frequent in male than in females, with a ratio of 1.95 to 1.

Conclusions The rate of death caused by poisoning is decreasing; however it continues to be a significant public health problem. We need to take appropriate preventive measures based in pertinent scientific evidence.